Former US senator Kyrsten Sinema admits to having affair with former bodyguard

Former US Senator Kyrsten Sinema has acknowledged in court documents that she had a relationship with a man who was still married at the time, but she argues that a lawsuit filed against her by his estranged wife should be dismissed because the alleged conduct did not occur in the state where the case was filed.

The legal dispute involves Matthew Ammel and his estranged wife, Heather Ammel. Heather Ammel filed the lawsuit in North Carolina in September 2025.

In her motion to dismiss, Sinema acknowledged that she and Matthew Ammel began a romantic relationship in 2024, several months before he formally separated from his wife. According to the filing, the relationship began in late May 2024, with the first physical encounter taking place on May 27 in Sonoma. The court documents also state that the two were intimate in several other cities in the months that followed, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Aspen and Phoenix.

Sinema’s legal argument focuses on jurisdiction. She contends that the lawsuit should not proceed in North Carolina because none of the alleged encounters took place in that state. Her lawyers argue that the geographic locations of the meetings are central to determining whether the North Carolina courts have authority to hear the case. Heather Ammel’s lawsuit also alleges that Sinema sent romantic messages to her husband while he was in North Carolina, including a photograph of herself wrapped only in a towel.

Sinema disputes that claim in her filing, stating that she did not send such a photograph. She further argues that even if such a message had been sent, she was not aware that Matthew Ammel was in North Carolina at the time, meaning it should not establish legal jurisdiction there.

The case now centers on whether the courts in North Carolina have the authority to hear the lawsuit or whether the claims should be dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction.